


Indecision Point

by quietprofanity



Series: Yin, Yang and Squiggly Universe [2]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Dubious Consent, Fisting, Futanari, Knotting, Mating Cycles/In Heat, Multi, Threesome - F/M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-11-18
Updated: 2012-12-20
Packaged: 2017-11-19 00:34:44
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 3
Words: 13,580
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/567051
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/quietprofanity/pseuds/quietprofanity
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Set in the same universe as “Yin, Yang and Squiggly.” Aang loves Katara, but Katara’s unsure about her feelings and who she is as an in-between. When Aang makes an impulsive move after Team Avatar comes home from seeing “The Boy in the Iceberg,” Zuko escalates the situation.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Part One

~*~*~

The playwright thought she was a Yin. Katara wasn’t sure if she felt complimented or offended. Well, even if her friends thought she was a preachy crybaby who couldn’t resist making over-emotional speeches about hope all the time, they could at least agree that that part was objectively wrong, right?

“I don’t know,” Toph said to her during the first intermission. “If that’s how you acted around Jet, I’d make the same mistake.”

Katara wished Toph could see her icy glare. On the other hand, maybe it was good Toph couldn’t see her blush.

She tried to put it out of her mind, though, if only because it felt stupid to be upset about a fictional portrayal of her embarrassing love life when they’d just seen scores of Fire Nation citizens celebrate their potential deaths.

Back at the Royal Family’s beach home, as Katara walked back to “her” room for the night, she saw Suki and Sokka out on the sand. Katara leaned on her elbows over the side of the railing and watched as Suki nuzzled her brother, (Katara had noticed he smelled a lot like Suki lately) then gave him a kiss. Sokka looked happy, like a Yin who found their Yang should look.

“And I am happy for him,” Katara whispered to herself, putting an emphasis on the “am.” He’d come very far from where he’d been almost two years ago.

Not like her. For all she’d learned and changed over the past year – she’d seen the world, met so many people, became a master waterbender – thinking about her sexuality made her feel like the same girl who took a Yang into her tent and woke up the next morning to cry with her dolls out in the snow.

Katara turned away, angry at Aang all over again.

Should she have been blunter with him when he’d asked her how she felt? Should she have been kinder after he’d kissed her? But didn’t he realize how hard this was for her?

Aang usually understood her struggles with being … different. She told him she was an in-between about a week after they’d found him in the ice. Katara had braced for, feared he’d ask, any number of the obnoxious questions people usually asked about in-betweens (“Can’t you just mate with yourself? So how small is it? Don’t you think you should tell everyone what you are in case a Yang mistakes your smell for a Yin’s and accidentally finds you attractive?”). But while he was initially surprised, he didn’t treat her any differently.

Actually, Aang was surprisingly tolerant. Once on their travels an Earth Kingdom teenager had followed them and heckled her, calling her disgusting. Katara had given him a face full of water for his trouble. Still, when they settled down for the night, before Katara closed her eyes to go to sleep, Aang placed his hand on her shoulder.

“You’re not disgusting,” he said to her. “You know that, right?”

She didn’t need to hear it, but it was nice.

Katara sighed, continued to walk back to her room. Maybe she should have done something differently. Aang hadn’t spoken directly to her since they left the theater. She had watched him multiple times, trying to see if he was angry, but he didn’t look so much mad as closed in on himself, far away. Katara was glad for that. She didn’t want to hurt Aang, but …

A scent hit her nostrils, made her freeze. Then Katara immediately felt ashamed of her reaction as Zuko stepped out from behind the corner of the building. Instinct, she told herself. It still hadn’t been too long since his scent was a signal to run away, to fight.

It was a small comfort that he seemed just as surprised to see her, his head turned down so his eyes were almost hidden behind his bangs. “Oh … hey,” he mumbled, briefly looked away. “Couldn’t sleep?”

“No. Well, I mean …,” Katara folded her hands behind her back. “I was just heading to bed now. Did you get up again?”

“No. Um. I hadn’t gone to bed at all,” Zuko said. He scratched the back of his neck.

Katara forced a smile.

If someone could bend silence, they could use the one between them to knock someone out. Don’t mention the play, Katara thought to herself. Don’t mention the play.

“Nice ni—”

“So, do you really like Yangs?”

Katara’s blood drained out of her face. She suddenly felt very conscious of Zuko’s smell again. “Not … not necessarily,” she said. Then she frowned. “Wait, why are you asking this?”

“No reason!” Zuko said, holding up his hands. “I just … I met Jet a few times. I didn’t think he was the type of person you liked.”

“It’s not like we were bondmates,” Katara said, crossing her arms. She leaned back against the wall of the house. She suddenly realized what she said, “I mean, we didn’t even date! I mean, it was nothing.”

“Okay, sorry. I just …,” Zuko paused. “Well, Uncle didn’t feel this way, but he said some in-betweens have a preference. I just wondered if you were one of them.”

Katara blushed, lowered her eyes. “I don’t know. It’s … strange. I don’t think we feel the same as Yins and Yangs.”

Zuko seemed surprised. “Really? Ty Lee always seemed pretty passionate.”

“No, I don’t mean that stereotype about us being frigid. It’s like …,” Katara ran her hands along the hair she had tied behind her left ear. “ … It’s like we have both Yin and Yang natures inside us, and if I like one the opposite nature in me tries to match them. I mean, it’s not the same compulsion for me. But … I feel it.”

Zuko made a noise to indicate that he understood. He leaned back against the building next to her. “It sounds … confusing. I guess. So you’ve experienced both?”

Oh, gods. Katara was sure she was really red now. “Both of what? What do you mean?”

“Attraction,” Zuko said, then pale parts of his cheeks suddenly turned red as well. “Wait, what did you think I meant?”

Ugh. Why was he being so embarrassing? “I … I don’t want to talk about it.”

“Look, I’m sorry. It’s okay if you’re a virgin. Or … um, aren’t a virgin.” 

“Well, I am,” Katara said, trying to curl further in on herself. For some reason, she thought of the scent of Jet’s hand as he held her cheek, of Aang’s wide eyes after she yelled at him for kissing her. “It’s okay,” she said bitterly. “I probably wouldn’t know what to do no matter who I was with. There isn’t really a set of traditions for people like us.”

Zuko didn’t say anything in response to that. After a moment he slowly, tentatively, placed his hand on her shoulder.

A jolt ran through Katara. “I … guess I better go to sleep now,” she said, pushing him away.

Zuko’s face fell a bit. “Oh, okay.”

“Good night,” she muttered, and slipped past him.

It was only after she changed into her white clothes for that night that she realized how glad she was to be away from his scent. 

~*~*~

Katara had only had about an hour’s sleep when she felt herself urged awake. She had been dreaming; it involved Jet somehow but he sounded more like his actor, and Zuko but he had on that ridiculous long wig. It must been somewhat intense despite its goofiness, though, because she was finding it hard to ignore her arousal as she tried to turn in the bed, her limbs pinned by something heavy. She thought it was the grogginess of sleep but the more she woke up the more weighed down she felt.

Katara forced herself on her side. The rustling of blankets followed but so did warmth and a strong grip. She opened her eyes with a gasp as a scent hit her nostrils.

Yin. Heat.

No.

Katara craned her neck behind her to see Aang there. His arms and legs were wrapped around her; his face buried in the back of her neck. She tried to pull away again and he clenched one of his legs more tightly around her thigh.

“Aang?” she said, her voice on the edge of worry and anger.

Aang lifted his head. For a moment, Katara saw fear in his gray eyes before he crushed his lips against hers. She pushed him away.

They were tangled by more than just their limbs. Katara’s feet were caught in the sheets, and she tumbled off the bed, scraping her palms and wrists against the floor, before she got free.

“Katara!” Aang scrambled to the edge of the bed. Katara saw now he was dressed in a white tunic, the one he usually used whenever he went into heat. “Are you okay?”

Katara frowned as she kicked the last bit of the sheets away. “What are you doing in my bed?”

“I …” Aang grabbed his tunic near his knees, scrunched and rolled it around in his fists. “… I can’t help it. I need you.”

“What?” Katara knew exactly what was happening; she wasn’t stupid and she had a sense of smell, albeit a weak one. But she never thought Aang would do something like this. He’d meditated through every single heat he’d had since they’d found him in the ice.

Aang propelled himself briefly into the air, landed near Katara’s legs on the floor. She gasped and tried to cover her nose, but he grabbed her wrist, pressed it to his mouth and kissed it. “I want you for my mate.”

“Aang!” Katara yanked her hand away. The scent of his heat gummed up her nose, coaxed her clitoris into hardening despite herself.

“Please.” Aang crawled toward her, placed his hands on her feet as she tried to shuffle backwards. “Don’t run away. I’m sorry. I know what you said when we talked about it earlier but I can’t help it. I want to be with you. I want it so much.”

“You’re in heat,” Katara said, trying her best to be kind and firm at the same time. “You need to get back to your room before Toph and Zuko …”

“I love you.”

Katara froze, stunned. What?

Aang took a deep breath before speaking again. “I love you, Katara. I love you in heat. I love you out of heat. Ever since I woke up, ever since my new life, you’ve been there. I can’t help but love you. And I don’t know why you don’t feel the same way.”

Katara could feel her throat tighten. It was so hard to listen to all this, to hear Aang so obviously miserable. She wished she could take him in her arms and hold him until he wasn’t sad anymore, but she knew that wasn’t what he wanted.

“Aang, I told you this isn’t the right time!” Katara had been trying to keep her voice steady, but she ended up yelling, too. She’d never smelled heat like this before – the air itself seemed thick with it – and it was hard to concentrate on the words she wanted to say. “I mean, what are you doing? Did you think I’d smell you and mate you and it would all be okay?”

Her words seemed to finally strike a nerve with Aang. He released Katara at last, went back to worrying at the ends of his tunic. “I … well …”

Katara threw up her hands. “How could you be so stupid? I remind you that we’re in a war and you try to get pregnant!”

“That’s not it!” Aang reached for her again, but instead pitched forward and clutched his stomach. “I just want you,” he whimpered. “I … urgh …”

A dagger of concern speared Katara’s heart. Before she could think about it she was crawling toward him, moving into his eager arms as they wrapped around her neck. Aang kissed her forehead, her cheek, as he straddled her, and Katara shuddered with involuntary pleasure as a bit of his fluids smeared against her thighs.

This was such a horrible idea. In-betweens didn’t lose their heads over Yins the way Yangs did (Katara recalled days when Aang and Sokka were both near heat and Toph would circle them like a baby shark-tiger, the war within herself plain on her face) but Aang was a shivering, irresistible bundle of need in her arms. The part of Katara that was Yang wanted to push him on the ground, wanted to enter him and mate him. The thought made Katara’s clitoris, which had by now grown to its full length, pound with eagerness.

But thinking of that reminded her exactly why she shouldn’t.

Katara pushed Aang away for a second time. “I can’t.”

Aang growled in frustration. “Why?” he shouted, his eyes filling with tears. “Tell me why!”

“You’re the last airbender,” Katara said. She covered her mouth, trying not to cry herself. “You deserve a real Yang, someone who can give you lots of children.”

“What? You just said a few minutes ago I shouldn’t be trying to have kids!” 

“That’s not what I meant.”

“I don’t care about kids. It’s you I want. I’m an Air Nomad Yin! I get to pick my mate!”

It was Katara’s turn to growl now. She stood up. “Well, I’m not an Air Nomad. Okay? I’m going to get Sokka to help you.”

She opened the door. A gust of wind ripped it out of her hand, slammed it shut. Katara whirled back to Aang.

“Did you just bend at me?” Katara fumed. “Are you serious?”

Aang lowered his hands. He looked so wretched, a trembling mess crouched on the ground, his eyes wide with hurt. Katara pitied him, wanted him, hated him and loved him all at once.

“I’m sorry,” Aang said. “I’m sorry for everything. Please. Please Katara. I was stupid. I didn’t realize how bad this would feel. Can you …” his voice broke. “Can you help me? Even if you don’t love me. Can you help me this once? Please. I’m so miserable.”

Katara gripped the doorknob again. “Don’t you see what I’ve been trying to tell you, Aang? I can’t help you! I’ll never be able to help you!”

“Katara!”

She rushed out the door, slammed it behind her. Katara tried to hold it close when she felt it buckle with gust of wind.

Katara braced herself against it. “Aang, stop bending!”

“Let me out!” Aang’s words were punctuated by another gust, the door buckling again. “Let me out or I’ll burn down the door!”

“You do that and I swear I’ll never speak to you again.”

Katara heard Aang moan. Nothing happened for a moment after that, but Katara knew it wasn’t over. She took stock of herself. Her legs were wobbly as she leaned against the door. The loincloth over her pants (which wasn’t doing as good a job at hiding the bulge in her crotch as she would have liked) had gotten wet from Aang’s fluids, was starting to dry into something sticky. She was sweating and her loose hair itched near her hairline and neck.

“Sokka!” she cried out as loud as she could, loud enough that her throat hurt. “Sokka!”

Katara suddenly realized how stupid she was being. Sokka and Aang had been on the same cycle for almost nine months now. If Aang was in heat, her brother probably was too, and as nice and intelligent as Suki was, she was probably drunk on Sokka’s scent and unwilling to let him go right now.

Aang pounded on the door with his fists. “Please,” he cried. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that. I never would have done that. I’m so sorry. Please.”

Katara groaned. She was tired. So tired. From her previous experience with the boys, she knew heats usually lasted for about fifteen hours. Could she fight with him for that long? Or even for the next six or so hours until the sun came up? Aang would get tired eventually, would probably collapse for a couple of hours or so in exhaustion, but could she hold out until then?

Or maybe she could give up, in a sense. How long had he been in bed with her? He hadn’t used that time to try to mate with her, just to hug her. What if he could be satisfied with that? Could they hold and kiss each other for hours and would that be enough?

Her pathetic little clitoris twitched hard at the thought. No. Besides, even if her body could hold out the necessary resistance, her heart couldn’t take it.

“Sokka!” Katara yelled again, at a loss for what to do.

To her shock, her cry was answered with the sound of feet running toward her. Katara gasped in relief.

Then she smelled who it was.

Katara stared in horror at Zuko, and he seemed as shocked as her. She could see the moment when the scent hit him. He actually staggered back as he covered his face.

“What … what are you doing in there?”

“He’s … he’s in heat,” Katara said. “Can you get Sokka? Aang needs –”

“I know what he needs,” Zuko snarled. His hazel eyes were dark as he bared his teeth, looked ready to lunge at her.

Katara’s mouth dropped open. No! No! Why didn’t she take her water skein?

“Zuko …” she said, her voice firm.

Zuko’s hands curled into claws over his face. Katara prayed that some sort of sense would reach his brain, that he’d run away.

Then he struck.

Zuko meant to push her into the door but Katara pushed back just as strong in return, her feet locked on the wood floor as she resisted him. He tried to grab her but she got his hands. Their fingers locked together.

“Let me in there,” Zuko growled.

“No!” Katara said through gritted teeth.

“Katara?” Aang’s voice seemed distant. “Katara, what’s going on out there?”

As she turned to answer him, Zuko swept her foot. It shocked her but was able to grab onto his vest, yanked him onto the floor with her. Katara took the opportunity to get a hold on his wrists and straddle him.

“Zuko. You have to pull yourself together. You’re acting like an animal.”

The boy beneath her let out a cry and thrust his hips to the side. Katara shrieked as she tumbled off him.

Zuko was at the door. Katara sprang to her feet and jumped on his back. Zuko stumbled back for a moment, but snaked his hands beneath her arms, breaking her hold. When Katara tried to attack again, Zuko caught her by the waist and knocked her hard against the wall.

As the pain coursed through Katara’s body, sudden clarity hit her. Zuko had attacked her. Zuko wanted to hurt Aang.

No.

She bared her teeth, moved her arms so she could bend the sweat on her body and form it into hard ice. Oh, if only it were the full moon. She’d hold him tight with his blood and make him scream.

“You. Won’t. Hurt. Him,” Katara snarled, an ice knife hardening in her hands.

Zuko’s eyes widened. “Wait …”

Too late. Katara sprang toward him, knocked him to the ground. She held the blade to his neck.

Zuko tried to squirm away from the blade. “I didn’t bend at you!”

Katara froze. Then she frowned. The ice knife clattered on the floor. “Do you think this is a ga –?”

Zuko’s lips covered hers. Katara shrieked, but as Zuko’s arms wrapped around her waist, something primal inside her kicked in and she felt herself kissing back.

It felt satisfying in a way few things ever had in her life, the thrill of a fight seemed the natural lead into this embrace. Katara was realizing how good Zuko smelled, how she wanted to melt into him. She’d proved her strength; she could enjoy her reward.

Shame coursed through Katara. She’d started this fight because she wanted to stop Zuko and Aang from giving into their instincts. But she ended up diving into her own headfirst.

The door opened behind them, the creaking followed by Aang’s Yin scent filling Katara’s nose. As Katara looked back at Aang, she expected him to be heartbroken, wondered if she would have to chase after him and try to explain to him what she could barely explain to herself.

But the look of pain on Aang’s face didn’t come from hurt so much as fear. A blast of wind rushed past Katara, smacking Zuko back against the wall. Katara gasped. Before she could call out Zuko’s name Aang ran to her side. Aang looked like he was ready to grab her, but then he stepped back, covered his nose.

“She smells like me, now, doesn’t she?” Zuko asked as pushed himself to his feet. “I could smell you on her, too, Aang.”

Katara suddenly felt sick. Maybe Aang didn’t really want to be protected from Zuko. Maybe she shouldn’t have tried. Maybe if she left now, ran down to the surf and jumped in the waves and got the smells of both of them off of her, she wouldn’t have to see what would happen next.

“What … What are you talking about?” Aang asked, his voice unsteady. “What do you want from me? What do you want from Katara?”

“The same thing you do,” Zuko said.

“Oh no.” Katara stood up, held up her hands. “You two are not going to fight over me! Ack!”

With a sudden movement, Zuko caught her by the hands. Before she could counter, Zuko had them bent behind her back, grasped her to his chest with his free hand.

“Let her go, Zuko!” Aang yelled. Katara could see his limbs were shaky in his weakened state, but he was ready to fight.

Katara heard Zuko take a long whiff of her neck. Ugh, she hated herself for it but it made her tremble, made her wet.

“I can smell you all over her, Aang,” Zuko said, his voice breathy. “It must hurt a lot, doesn’t it? Don’t you want someone to take that all away?”

Katara let out a howl, felt her knees buckle beneath her. “Aang! Get me my water skein and run! Help! Help!”

“Stop that!” Zuko yanked her up off the ground, tried to force her back on her feet. “Can’t you guys see I’m trying to help you?”

“Help us how?” Aang demanded.

Zuko didn’t say anything for a minute. Katara craned up her neck to look at him, and insecurity lingered on his face. “You want to mate, and you want Katara. But she’s not a Yang,” Zuko gripped her tighter, laid the hand holding her chest against him at her throat. “What if we’re all together? What if I show her how to be a Yang for you?”

Katara could feel her face turning red. “I don’t get a say in this?”

“You’re reeking of Yin and Yang scent right now, Katara. Even when I was chasing you or fighting you’ve never smelled this strong. Isn’t this what you want?”

Katara gulped and looked at Aang. He was trembling more than ever. Aang stared at the floor for a moment, then looked up at Katara.

“Are … are you okay with it, Katara?” Aang asked, his voice quiet.

Katara’s mouth dropped open. “You … you want this?”

“It …” Aang sighed, curled his hands into fists. “It really does hurt …”

She wasn’t sure if she felt more ashamed because it had come to this or because she ended up nodding in agreement, but Katara was grateful when Zuko let her go.

When they were all back in her room, when Aang was lying on her bed with eager anticipation on his face, Katara began to doubt herself again. As she stood at the foot of her bed she closed her eyes, tried to concentrate on his smell, but part of her still wanted to run away.

“Katara?” The plea in Aang’s voice was clear.

From behind her, Zuko laid his hands on her shoulders, whispered in her ear. “You have to show yourself to him. It’s expected.”

“I …” Katara gulped. “I’m really small.”

“I don’t care,” Aang propped himself up on his elbows. “Please, Katara. I want to see you.”

Katara’s hands fumbled at her bra. Zuko helped untangle her hair from it as she pulled it over her head. She folded her thumbs beneath the sides of her pants and loincloth, then paused.

“I …” Katara was about to say she couldn’t when Zuko placed his hands over hers, helped her push them down.

When Katara forced herself to turn her head down, she’d hoped she could look at herself objectively and find herself adequate, but she couldn’t. The drama and her insecurity had dampened her arousal, true, but her clitoris was still so little.

Katara closed her eyes, unable to look at Aang’s face. Then she felt Zuko push her forward. Her knees hit the edge of the bed as she fell onto Aang.

She froze, and luckily for her Aang seemed temporarily as shocked as she did. Katara had been close to Aang many times before – had once nursed him back to life in her arms – but never like this. She was painfully conscious of how naked and vulnerable she felt. Aang was breathing heavily beneath her, his eyes locked on hers. He reached up his hand and stroked her cheek. His fingers tangled with her hair.

“You’re beautiful,” Aang said, an urgency in his voice.

Katara felt her chest tighten. She looked back at Zuko. He was undressing, had gotten off his vest and was pulling his shirt off when he caught her eye.

“Go on,” Zuko said. “I’ll be there in a minute.”

How had they gotten here? Katara felt like she should be putting a stop to this. That’s what she always did. Stop her feelings. Push them down even when a Yin like Haru made her want to battle ten eel hounds to protect him, when a Yang like Jet swept her off her feet. She’d always been able to control herself, but the two of them together were too much for her to fight.

Maybe the same was true for Aang, meditating through all of his heats for so long. Zuko she couldn’t figure out one way or the other, if this was just the natural Yang reaction to heat or if something deeper was going on in his head, but part of her felt grateful he was here.

Katara turned back to Aang and kissed him. Aang took the opportunity to be forceful, pushing his tongue past her lips and hitching his legs about her waist. Katara’s breath caught in her throat. It was hard to reconcile this with the boy who’d clamored for her to go penguin sledding with him. It was hard to reconcile that memory with what she felt right now. 

She broke the kiss. “Um … take off your clothes.”

Smooth, Katara thought sarcastically.

Aang did as she said, though, pulling the tunic over his head. Katara glanced over Aang’s body and … oh gosh, was he actually bigger than her? Okay, she couldn’t think about that. Kneeling on the bed, Katara placed her hands on Aang’s knees and gently spread his legs apart and back. She gripped onto her elongated clitoris, took a deep breath and …

It didn’t go in. Katara tried again, but her clitoris just slipped on Aang’s fluids instead of breaching inside him.

“Katara?” Aang asked tentatively. “Is something wrong? Can I help?”

A stinging sensation pierced Katara’s eyes. “Oh, come on!”

“Calm down.” Zuko placed his hand on her shoulder. It was scary to Katara how comforting that felt, how a part of her was eager to follow his commands. “Aang, stay still for a minute, okay?”

Aang looked at Zuko with the same nervous gaze, something that wanted to trust but wasn’t sure if he should. “Um … okay.”

Zuko then reached past Katara, pressed his fingers between the crease of Aang’s buttocks before moving inside him. Aang moaned, writhed on Zuko’s fingers in a way that made Katara jealous. After about a minute, Zuko pulled out his fingers, now soaked with Aang’s fluids and then pressed them to Katara’s nose.

Katara gasped. The smell, oh spirits, the smell. It burned through her sinuses, made every part of her body tighten with need. She wanted more of it. She pressed Zuko’s hand closer to her face and licked his fingers, sucked on them until she couldn’t taste anything but the calluses of his fingertips. 

But it still wasn’t enough. Katara bent down on her hands and knees on the bed, her face between Aang’s legs. Katara was vaguely aware of Zuko’s hands exploring her buttocks and thighs, of Aang calling her name, but all she could think about was that wonderful smell, that wonderful fluid. She licked the sheets where Aang had leaked onto the bed, then began to lick the fluid off him.

“No,” Aang moaned. “No, stop. Please. Mate me. Mate me!”

Oh, yeah, that sounded like a good idea. Her clitoris was throbbing, stiff and hard, between her legs now. She’d never felt so aroused, so much like a Yang.

Katara climbed on top of Aang and plunged inside him. They both cried out together. It was unlike anything Katara had ever felt before. Aang was so slick, so warm, yet tight like a grip on her clitoris. Aang pressed himself closer, trying tried to get more and more of her inside of him.

Just as Katara was getting used to the feeling, Zuko kneeled on the bed behind her, his legs on the inside of hers. Katara could feel him try to enter her, the head of his penis urging her vagina open. It hurt a bit, the stretch just a little too wide. She winced as Zuko made his first thrust inside her, but felt herself being pushed forward, pushed deeper inside of Aang.

Katara let go. She lay down across Aang’s lithe body, enjoying his warmth as he struggled beneath her. Zuko gripped onto her hips and she arched her back. Her body, her mind was a typhoon of conflicting sensations. Domination and submission. Penetration and invasion. Yin scent and Yang scent. The Yin women of her tribe, the Yang boys in the North, always talked of mating as a type of surrender to all their most base instincts, about reaching a point where thought stopped and passion reigned. As an in-between, Katara believed such experiences would be out of her reach.

It felt so wonderful and she was so grateful for it that she was disappointed when she felt herself beginning to orgasm. She ordered Zuko to stop and pulled out of Aang – since he was in heat she wasn’t taking any risk – giving herself bare seconds before she ejaculated onto the sheets.

The experience left her wrecked. Crouched on the bed, trembling between the two of them, she thought of how she’d never felt anything so overwhelming.

They weren’t going to rest easy, though. Zuko had his arms wrapped around her, was breathing raggedly against her shoulder. Aang had sat up and was nuzzling her neck, petting her waist and her thighs.

“More,” Aang begged. “I need more, please.”

“I …” Katara inhaled sharply. “Hold on. I’m kind of … I’m …” What could she say? Her clitoris had already retracted. Aang still smelled good, but she wasn’t sure that would be enough to get her going again.

Zuko kissed her shoulder, whispered in Katara’s ear. “You don’t have to knot him to fulfill him, you know. There’s a trick.”

“What?” she asked.

“You stick your hand in him.”

Katara’s eyes bulged. She was about to ask Zuko if he was crazy, but Aang made a long and desperate moan in response.

As Aang laid back on the bed and spread his legs open Katara found it hard to believe how eager he was. She got in front of him on all fours, Zuko still behind her. Her first three fingers went in, one by one, so easily. Katara watched Aang’s face, saw him wince, but when she pulled her fingers out Aang begged her to put them back in. She couldn’t understand it, she thought as she added the fourth finger, moved her hand further inside him.

“Try to form a fist,” Zuko said. “Slowly. Watch him.”

Aang exhaled sharply. Katara started to curl her hand. “How do you know this?” Katara asked Zuko the question but had her eyes on Aang. Aang didn’t seem to be in pain, but Katara thought he looked upset for a moment.

“Um …” Zuko said. “We’re all taught this in the Fire Nation.”

Katara wasn’t sure that was the whole story but Aang was taking up all of her attention at the moment. It was amazing. His entrance, his internal vagina, was so slick and wet but still kept a tight hold on her. Aang had been compliant and unmoving through the process, but he was writhing on her hand now, trying to get more friction. Katara started to thrust her fist back and forth inside him.

“Does that feel good?” Katara asked.

Aang nodded vigorously. “It’s so … I can’t … I can’t …” He gasped suddenly.

It was done. Aang came, and he came hard. His stomach was splattered with issue and Katara’s hand was soaked in the gush of his fluids, making it easy to slip out.

A heady pride settled over Katara. She felt like she’d bent an ocean. She had made Aang come. She had made a Yin come. Katara actually squealed as she scrambled to kiss Aang. He met her lips eagerly, pulling her in for the tightest, best hug in the world.

I did it, she thought. I pleased a Yin. I’m not inferior. I’m not a frigid, unlovable pervert. I’m an in-between and I made a Yin come. I’m amazing!

Okay, she told herself, trying to stop herself from grinning in what she was sure was an incredibly goofy smile. She had to calm down a little bit. She was thinking like a Yang a little too much.

Zuko cleared his throat.

Speaking of which …

End Part One.


	2. Part Two

~*~*~

Aang watched Zuko intently, and Katara suspected there was some jealousy involved. She maybe should have felt flattered that Aang wanted her all to himself, but Katara knew she never would have been able to make Aang happy without Zuko to show her the way.

Still, cleared of her arousal’s haze, the strangeness of what they had all just done was harder to ignore. And the thought that she and Aang probably both owed him now made her feel uncomfortable, even though feeling so seemed unfair.

She was grateful to Zuko, but she still felt a little nervous as he stroked his hand slowly down her back. She wasn’t afraid of him. She had met her fair share of predatory Yangs – Zhao, Long Feng, Zuko’s own sister – but she was smart enough to know that most weren’t like that. Plus, she’d just been acting like a Yang a few short minutes ago.

At any rate, Zuko’s touch was more of an acknowledgement. Zuko turned to Aang then, placed a hand on his shoulder. Aang took a deep breath, but didn’t pull away when Zuko bent forward to kiss him. Katara watched in awe as the boys pawed at each other, and wondered when the room got hotter.

“How are you feeling?” Zuko asked.

It took Aang a few moments before he could answer. “I don’t know. It’s weird. I feel better, but …” he gave Katara an apologetic look. “I know it’s not going to last. The need is still there. It’s just … buried. It wants to come out again.”

Zuko nodded. “You’re going to feel that way a lot for the rest of the night, probably early into next morning, too. You should sleep for a while. Keep your strength up.”

Aang raised an eyebrow. “Really? No offense, but you don’t smell like you’re ready for sleep.”

Zuko frowned, looked at Katara. “If you don’t trust me to control myself, she can sleep between us.”

Anticipation and nervousness struck Katara at once. Aang didn’t seem as happy, though, his brow furrowed as he started to speak. “I don’t know if …”

“I think it’s a good idea,” Katara blurted out. “I mean, I’ll be next to you either way, right? Or I should be. Better to work on that bonding … well, not bonding. You know, how Yins want to be with their Yangs mid-heat? That post-mating comfort … joining ...” Katara clasped the index finger and her thumb of each hand together in interlocking circles, smiled widely as she knocked the rings against each other in a lame attempt at an explanation. “… Thing? Isn’t this instinct or something?”

Oh dear, they were looking at her like she was crazy.

Aang’s eyes glanced quickly at Zuko. He frowned again, and then looked back at her.

“I guess it’s okay,” Aang said.

As they settled in for the nap, Aang laid next to her. She wrapped her arms around his neck as he hugged her back and snuggled against her neck. Katara felt the bed dip as Zuko curled up behind her. He didn’t touch her, which surprised Katara a bit, but it helped assuage her guilt over that bout of selfishness.

After a few moments, Aang fell asleep, his grip on her still intact but a bit looser as he breathed heavily in her arms. As Katara tried to join him, she felt a hand on her back. She looked over her shoulder to see Zuko turning on his side away from them. Katara thought of saying something, but decided against it and closed her eyes.

~*~*~

Katara didn’t get the chance to sleep for long. She was still groggy when she woke up to Aang nuzzling her, and then licking her face. Her leg was damp where Aang had rested against it.

“Katara,” he said when he saw she’d woken up. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know it would happen so fast.”

She groaned. “How long has it been?”

“An hour,” the voice behind Katara said.

Katara could feel her body tense. Zuko’s voice was harsh, strained. She could tell he hadn’t slept at all. He crawled over to them, his eyes bright like a dragon’s. His smell was indescribable. She knew she had to protect Aang but it would be so nice to just close her eyes and spread her legs and …

Oh, who was she kidding? He didn’t even fit quite right inside her, and they both seemed to know what was going to come next.

Katara looked at Aang. He was stone-faced, like he was preparing for some sort of fight.

“Do you want to do this?” Katara whispered in his ear.

“Y-Yeah,” Aang whispered back. “Sure.”

Was this right? Was this just reducing something passionate to some sort of trade? (“He has what I need?” “He has what I want?”) Should she step in? Or was that depriving Aang somehow?

“What I told you once still stands, Zuko,” Katara finally said. “Don’t hurt him. Don’t knot in him, either.”

Zuko nodded. Katara shuffled away from Aang. Aang stared at her as Zuko moved on top of him, but Zuko turned Aang’s face toward him and covered his lips in a kiss.

It was hard to hear what Zuko said as they broke the kiss, but the words “want” and “three years” were in there.

Yangs pounced, Yangs took, and that’s what Zuko did. Within seconds he had Aang’s legs pushed back, was thrusting inside him. The sounds that came out of Aang’s mouth – so desperate, so satisfied – made Katara feel less guilty. Aang had his arms wrapped around Zuko’s neck; his fingers dug into Zuko’s shoulders. Zuko pushed hard against Aang, and Aang struggled for leverage, tried to wrap his legs around Zuko’s waist.

The sight of their bodies moving together, the scent of heat and accompanying squelch that came with every thrust had reduced Katara to few higher functions besides staring. It was embarrassing, made her feel shallow and stupid when she knew that she wasn’t.

Zuko closed his eyes and stopped moving. His breathing became deliberate, slow. When Katara woke up a bit she wondered if he was preparing to knot, but then realized he was actually doing his best not to. When Zuko maintained his composure, he bent down and licked along Aang’s neck. Aang arched back, started to grind against Zuko. Then Zuko reared back and bit Aang on the shoulder.

“Ow!” Aang cried out, tried to pull away. “Quit it!”

Katara darted to Aang’s side, her lips curled back in a snarl, but Zuko had already let Aang go. Katara and Zuko stared each other down for a few moments, both readying for the other one to strike. When they concluded that neither one would, Zuko hung his head and mumbled an apology. Katara frowned. He didn’t look apologetic enough for her taste.

“I forget sometimes that Air Nomads are different from us,” Zuko said. He didn’t look either of them in the eye.

“It’s fine,” Aang said, his voice firm but not unkind. “Just don’t bite me or hit me.”

Zuko nodded, although resentment still lingered on his face. Katara moved so she was sitting up near the top of the bed, an inch from where Aang’s head rested on the pillow. Aang looked up at her, then reached and grabbed her hand as Zuko mounted him again.

The collective funk was fairly short lived. Zuko occasionally gripped onto the bedsheets, his fingers like talons and his face strained, but otherwise behaved himself. Aang sometimes squeezed Katara’s hand a little more tightly if Zuko made a particularly hard thrust, but otherwise seemed content to let his body accept what it needed. 

The haze Katara felt watching the boys had become something more urgent. Katara could feel a tightness in her clitoris, knew it was a tiny bit of friction away from popping out. Ugh, she thought, this wasn’t exactly a good time. She pressed the insides of her thighs together, concentrated on keeping it inside, but trying to hold back on her desire only made it worse, and instead of getting hard she was getting wet.

When it was over, when Zuko pulled out and curled his hand inside Aang, the latter boy came. For a moment, Katara tried to figure out if Aang sounded louder, more excited, with Zuko than with her but she figured that was a stupid and petty thing to worry about. (“If you didn’t want to share, why did you agree to this?”) Zuko climaxed shortly thereafter, letting out sharp cries as he stained the bedding with his come.

Aang moaned softly as he stretched out his legs. His eyelids fluttered.

“Are you okay?” Katara asked him.

“Yeah,” Aang said, his voice barely above a whisper. “That was good. Really good. I’m just … just tired.”

Zuko looked worn out, too. He was curled back near the foot of the bed, his knees tucked behind him and his forehead on the bed, like a kowtow or a child’s pose in yoga. Katara was about to ask Aang what he wanted but he’d already fallen asleep.

“Wow,” she said. “Zuko, Aang is …”

Zuko answered her with a snore.

Katara rolled her eyes. Zuko didn’t look very comfortable (or dignified) in that position, so she rolled him onto his side. Katara still felt aroused, and she tried not to look at Zuko’s naked body … too closely, anyway. 

She let out a sigh. She didn’t blame either of them for it, and it had been really nice to watch, but it was also a bit of a reminder that she was the one with the useless orientation.

~*~*~

Someone was shaking Katara’s shoulder. She groaned and opened her eyes. The shadows in the room didn’t look like they’d changed much since she fell asleep.

“What time is it?” she asked the ceiling.

“About three hours until sunrise, I think.”

Zuko this time, then. He was crouched at her left side, between her and Aang. It was hard to read his expression, but he seemed weirdly nervous in a way that was hard to reconcile with the dominant Yang of a few hours earlier.

Then again, ruts drove all Yangs a bit crazy, and Zuko being mercurial wasn’t exactly a surprise.

“What’s wrong? Is Aang okay?” Katara looked behind Zuko, but it seemed like Aang was still asleep.

“He’s fine. I …” Zuko gulped. “I wanted to know if I could kiss you.”

Katara blinked. “Really? You didn’t ask before.”

“I thought you would have wanted me to ask!” Zuko frowned and waved a hand at her. “Never mind. It’s stupid.”

Ugh. Weirdo. Katara’s face reddened as she sat up on the bed and she wasn’t sure how much of that was anger and how much of that was disappointment. She clasped her knees to her chest.

Zuko sighed. “I’m sorry. Okay? I know Yangs are sometimes scary when we’re like that, but I never meant to hurt you, to hurt either of you.”

Katara stared at her feet. “I know how Yangs are, Zuko. It’s you, you the person, I can’t figure out sometimes.”

“That might make two of us,” Zuko muttered. “I’m changing. I’m trying, at least. But, I do like you, Katara. I mean, I like everyone here, but I feel like you and Aang really care about me, about everyone, and I haven’t felt much of that in my life.”

Katara rubbed her eyes, ran her fingers through her hair. She did care. She really did, but she wanted two very different things in life and wasn’t sure which one she should have.

Zuko placed his hand on her shoulder again. She looked up at him, took in his golden eyes and his scarred face. She might have been the one to close her eyes and purse her lips first, but in a moment it didn’t really matter.

Katara felt herself being pushed down onto the bed and didn’t struggle. She ran her fingers through Zuko’s short hair, pressed her nose against his neck and let his scent wash over her. The effect on her body was almost immediate. She was still wet from before, but now her clitoris was starting to grow, brushed against Zuko’s stomach. Katara worried he would find it disgusting, but he didn’t stop kissing her, touching her.

“Katara,” he moaned her name into her mouth. “Katara, I want to mate you.”

Katara let out a soft whimper. “Okay.”

Zuko kissed her again, harder this time. Her clitoris was throbbing. “I want to knot you.”

Katara’s mouth was immediately dry. Without heats, in-betweens could usually get knotted without getting pregnant, but …

“Zuko, I … I think I’m too tight for that.”

Zuko reached beneath her legs, rubbed his fingers against her. Katara shuddered, then moaned as Zuko pushed inside her. She must have been wetter than she thought because they slid in easily, not like when she tried to finger herself. Katara struggled not to make a noise as Zuko pulled his fingers in and out of her.

“You can do it,” Zuko whispered. “I promise you.”

Katara meant to exhale, but an embarrassing moan came out in its place. As Zuko removed his fingers she reared up her legs, let him inside.

It wasn’t as difficult this time. Maybe she’d been stretched out, or needed to be wetter before, but this time it just felt good inside her. Really, really good. What surprised her most was how easy it was to take her pleasure from this. Mounting Aang had required a lot of work, a lot of concentration, but with this she could just lay back and feel.

Zuko increased the pace of his thrusts, and Katara cried out, shrieked. He stopped.

“I’m sorry,” she said. “It’s starting to hurt again.”

“Okay, we’ll … we’ll fix it.”

Zuko’s eyes traveled down her body. He wrapped a hand around her clitoris, ran his thumb over the tip. Katara groaned and thrust into his hand. She felt a little bad even through her pleasure. She hadn’t wanted to come like this, had been excited by the idea of being mounted like a proper Yin girl. But it was intense. Zuko’s touch was sometimes fumbling but strong, and Katara was so glad that he wanted to touch it, didn’t find it repulsive. She had to cover her mouth with her hand as she felt the orgasm rock through her, the ensuing gushes inside and out.

Katara was riding the aftershocks when Zuko began thrusting inside her again. It wasn’t doing anything for her at this point; she was too wrung out for that. But it also didn’t hurt so she let him take what he needed, occasionally running her hands over his shoulders, his back, his face when the affection struck her.

So Katara didn’t notice how aggressive he was becoming. He thrust inside her hard enough once that it did hurt, but it was so quick and he’d kissed her right after, so it didn’t feel like anything to hold a grudge about. Not long after that happened, though, he grabbed onto her shoulders, pinned her onto the bed.

Katara’s heart raced. “Zuko?”

“You’re mine,” he growled at her.

Okay. Woah. Where did this come from? “What are you talking abou—?” Katara gasped suddenly. Zuko was growing inside her.

Katara screwed her eyes shut tight. So this was knotting? She could feel the bulge push against her vaginal walls. It felt good. So good. She felt so full and tight.

And then it kept growing.

“No,” Katara moaned. “No, no. Stop. Stop it.”

“Ride through the pain,” Zuko said, his voice husky.

“I can’t! It’s too much. It hurts!”

“It’s too late. If I pull out, you’ll bleed.”

Katara felt tears sting her eyes. The knot hurt so bad. 

Then a wave of anger hit her. This was more than pain. This was degrading, wrong. Nobody was allowed to do this to her, to push her this low.

“Let me go,” she snarled.

“Katara, I told you. I can’t.”

She tried to squirm away, but Zuko’s knot held her tight to him. It had stopped growing but it hardened inside her, was this solid thing she couldn’t get away from. Without thinking, she struck, scratching deep into his scar.

Zuko cried out, flinching under the blow and covering his face with his hands. Katara suddenly realized, really realized, what she’d done. She covered her mouth.

“Zuko … Zuko, I’m sorry.”

Zuko slowly raised his head. The hair was different, but the face was the one she recognized: the Fire Nation boy who invaded her village, who fought her at the North Pole, who wanted to kill her.

Katara tried to brace for it, but the bite on her shoulder really, really hurt. She dug her fingernails into Zuko’s back, trying to hurt him as much as he was hurting her. He bucked against her, and her clitoris ached as it scraped against his stomach. And she wasn’t even sure when that had popped out again but it didn’t matter. All that mattered was that she was fighting even as he was doing these things to her.

Then Zuko was coming, and she could feel it in every part of her – his body shuddering against her and the semen filling her behind the knot. Oh gods, she knew it would be a lot but she didn’t know how much. It coated her walls, filled her up. If the knot wasn’t there it would probably gush out of her when she moved. It was so disgusting, she thought. What had she been thinking? She was sure to get pregnant. There was so much of it. So much. Yet she was coming too, climaxing on that painful, degrading knot.

When it was over, they held on to each other. (What else could they do? They were stuck together.) Everything seemed vaguely unreal, the room cloudy and spinning. Every time they moved, it ached a bit. Katara struggled to breathe, and Zuko wasn’t doing much better.

Zuko began petting her hair. Katara licked his face, his scar. 

“Wow,” Zuko said, finally.

“Yeah,” Katara breathed back.

Zuko exhaled, stroked her back. “I can see now why some Yangs only want in-betweens.”

Katara felt a little sick, almost hollow.

~*~*~

Katara didn’t know how much time passed until Zuko’s knot started to shrink, but it felt entirely too long. With every moment she worried about the semen inside her, wondered if Aang and Sokka’s estrus had triggered some sort of phantom heat in her and this would be the moment when one of Zuko’s sperm would reach an egg. She didn’t express any of these fears to Zuko, but he still knew she was distressed, kept stroking her hair and kissing her. It did help to keep her calm – at least until Zuko fell asleep, but she didn’t truly feel better until she was able to extract herself, run away to the bathroom and bend as much out of her as she could.

Katara sat on the floor in the bathroom, her arms resting on her knees. Was that who she was? Was that what she had hungered for whenever a Yang turned her head? Was that what it meant to be an in-between?

Then she thought of Aang. How had he been able to sleep through that? Was he just that tired? Had Zuko mated him again while she was asleep? What would Aang think when he found out? You couldn’t really call it cheating, but he said he loved her. And she … and she …

Ugh, why couldn’t she figure this out? Why did she have to, anyway? Didn’t they have enough to worry about with the war? And they were young! She wasn’t even sixteen yet. Didn’t she have a couple of years to fool around a bit? Wasn’t that what everyone expected?

She forced herself back on her feet, back to the room. A blue light swathed the hallway. In less than an hour it would be dawn. She’d have to remember to lock the door, make sure nobody would come in, even though she figured Sokka and Suki wouldn’t be around early this morning, either. Toph could possibly be awake, but she wasn’t exactly an early riser. Still, better to be safe.

Katara opened the door. Her throat contracted. The strong heat scent was back. She walked over to Aang. He was still asleep, but he was curled up on himself, making little moans.

She placed a hand on his cheek. Aang reached up in his sleep to grab it.

Katara sighed. She knew what she wanted to do.

End Part Two.


	3. Part Three

~*~*~

Katara bent down to kiss Aang. She meant to wake him up slowly, planting pecks on his lips that would lure him awake, but Aang’s eyes snapped open immediately.

Aang threw his arms around Katara’s neck and she laughed. She let him keep his grip on her as she crawled up onto the bed, on top of him. They kissed, and Katara’s eyes widened as Aang tried to open her mouth with his tongue. He writhed against her, his erection rubbing against her stomach.

To think that in Water Tribe love stories, Yins were usually demure maidens who stuttered and blushed as they tried to hide their desperate longing to be mated. Not Aang, clearly. His heat scent was so strong Katara felt like she was swimming in it, but it was the way he clung to her that really turned her on.

“It’s just me,” she joked.

“I know,” Aang said, a wide smile on his face. “That’s why I’m so excited.”

Aang’s words set off a pang of guilt in Katara’s chest. How could she ever have been jealous of Zuko and him together? It was still hard to believe Aang liked her as much as he did.

“Is there anything you want?” she asked.

The light in the room was still dim, but Katara thought she could see Aang blush a bit. “Actually, I know this might be weird but can I … can I be on top?”

Katara blinked. “Weird” was one way to put it. She’d heard of male Yins who occasionally liked to mount their partners (and female Yangs who would consent to being penetrated) but they were usually very rare.

That wasn’t actually what Aang meant, though. “Here, like this …” he said. He pushed her so she was sitting up, then climbed on top of her lap.

Oh, Katara thought as her breath hitched in her throat, she understood now.

She ran her hand underneath Aang, coating her fingertips in his fluids, then spread the liquid underneath her nose. Once again she felt her libido spike, her clitoris harden. She wanted to clasp Aang to her chest and mate him until Yangs an island away could smell her on him.

Katara kept a hand on Aang’s back, trying to steady him as he lowered himself down onto her, but he was strong and agile enough that he didn’t really need her help too much. Aang laid his hands on her shoulders. She shuddered as she felt her clitoris engulfed in his wet heat, groaned as Aang moved up and down on her.

“Do you like this?” Aang asked. “Is this what you want? Is it?”

“Yeah,” Katara said. She had her head back, her eyes closed, to better enjoy the sensation. “It’s really nice, Aang.”

Katara heard Aang make some sort of low hum, something that sounded like pleasure, but not quite. He continued to mount himself on her. Gosh, he was so wet, so warm.

She opened her eyes to watch Aang for a bit. His face was furrowed in concentration. She ran a hand along one of his thighs, felt how hard and tight they were. After thinking for a moment, Katara wrapped her hand around his penis, stroked it as he moved on top of her.

Aang started to moan, slowly at first, then more urgently. It was strange, Katara thought, how quickly she had learned to recognize the sounds of climax. Yin or Yang, Aang and Zuko were both strong boys, but there seemed to be in the noises that both of them made an alluring desperation, a sudden vulnerability before it was all over that instilled in her a kind of awe.

He collapsed like a puppet in her arms. Katara held onto him as she lay back on the bed. He was still on top of her, his legs lying on either side of her hips, as he kissed her. She kissed back, letting her tongue linger along his lips.

“See? I came,” Aang urged her. “I don’t need a knot.”

Katara sighed. That wasn’t quite the whole story, though. His penis was still hard, and he still smelled like heat. Actually, she was almost certain he’d been able to come so easily because he had taken her and Zuko’s hands inside him before.

In fact, Aang seemed to be unconsciously begging her for more even while he assured her that what she’d done was enough. He kept his body flush against hers, ran his fingers through her hair with such a need that he was almost pulling on it. She needed to deal with this, or at least try to.

Katara grabbed Aang by the shoulders and flipped him over onto the bed. Aang let out a needy little whimper which died in a gasp as Katara penetrated him. Katara thrust into him, her arms wrapped beneath his shoulderblades and her breasts pressed against his chest.

It felt good to do this, difficult as it was. She liked Aang’s gentle touches, his sweet and desperate desire for her. Katara remembered Zuko’s face as he knotted her, and she buried her head in Aang’s shoulder.

Aang tightened his grip on her back. “I love you.”

Katara raised her head. She took all of him in: his slack mouth, his half-lidded gray eyes, the slightly darker shade of his tattoos in the morning light.

“You’re a good boy, Aang,” she said. “A really good boy.”

He looked at her like he didn’t understand.

Katara ended up coming first again. When she pushed her hand inside him, Aang begged for her to go faster, harder. Katara was surprised, but obeyed, and when he reached his climax he yelled out, long and loud.

“What was that?” Katara asked as she pulled out.

“The end of it,” Aang said, wiping his wrist against his brow. “My heat’s over.”

“Are you sure?”

Aang nodded. “That hunger I was talking about before? I don’t feel it now. I’m done.”

Katara smiled.

The two of them reached for each other and drew together in a hug. Katara felt happy, at peace, as she kissed his forehead and prepared to sleep. Zuko had scared her, had touched something deep inside her, but Aang felt safe, felt like comfort and home.

Katara closed her eyes and tried to envision the future. Could she do this forever? Aang would be a good mate. He was kind and selfless and brave and funny and she would be happy to take care of him forever. There really was no reason to say no, was there?

The bed shifted beneath her. Katara looked back to see Zuko turning over, hunched beneath the covers with his back to her. He’s asleep, Katara told herself, but she knew that wasn’t true. His movements were too controlled to have been unconscious.

Katara felt sick. She’d been pondering throwing away a part of herself, and now deeply felt that loss. A part of her felt selfish, felt horrible but reached for Zuko, grabbed his shoulder and shook him.

Zuko actually smiled as he turned back toward them, lay against Katara’s back with his arm around her and Aang. Katara felt his lips on her cheek as she closed her eyes, settled into the best sleep she’d ever had.

~*~*~

When Katara woke up, though, she was alone.

The room was so bright and hot it felt like she was lying outside on the beach. Her eyes burned in the light. Her body was drenched in sweat. She felt like the grossest thing ever.

Then she saw the sheets.

“Ugh. How did we sleep on this?” she wondered aloud. The sheets had been red at one point, but now they were speckled with …

You know what? No. She wasn’t going to dwell on this because that was revolting. She got out of bed and pulled the sheets off with her, her eyes closed as she tied them into a ball and threw them out into the hallway. Aang or Zuko could clean them later. Most of the stains weren’t hers.

Where were the boys, anyway?

Katara found her white clothes. These needed to be washed, too, but she could clean them and her body together. She stumbled out the door, her tread heavy. Maybe she should have headed to the bathroom first but the post-mating hunger was really starting to prod at her so she went to the kitchen.

She opened the door to see Sokka and Suki staring back at her, their eyes wide with shock. Toph sat across from them, a sour look on her face that twisted into something like disgust. 

Suki sniffed the air. “Well, that explains a lot.”

Oh shoot. Katara forced her mouth into a wide grin. “Hey …” she said. “How … how are you this morning?”

“It’s noon,” Toph spat.

Ugh, Katara thought, letting her shoulders slump. “I’m going to the shower,” she said. Or off to die of embarrassment, she thought.

“Wait,” Sokka stood up, walked over to her. “Katara, are you okay?”

“Of course she’s okay!” Toph yelled. She had her arms crossed over her chest and a deep frown on her chest. “Everyone’s okay! Everyone’s having a great time! Everyone! Why wouldn’t everything be completely freaking wonderful?”

Sokka rolled his eyes. “Thanks for your input, little Miss Sunshine.”

“Shut up!” Toph snorted and frowned into her arms. “Everything sucks.”

Sokka sighed. He opened the door and beckoned Katara to enter the hallway. “We’ll be back in a minute, Suki.”

“Wait, what?” Suki asked. “You’re leaving me with – ?”

Sokka closed the door. “Sorry about that,” he said to Katara. “Toph’s been the Green-Clothed Monster ever since Aang woke up.”

“Where is he now?” Katara asked.

“Out on the beach. Zuko came in here about twenty minutes later, and now they’ve been out there for, like, an hour. I thought they’d be firebending but the last I checked they were still talking about their feelings or something.”

That didn’t sound good. “I’ll go talk to them,” she said.

“Hold on. I …” Sokka paused, scratched the back of his head. Katara could tell he was gearing himself up for a discussion neither of them wanted to have.

“So, um, I know you have this weird Squiggly thing going on.”

Katara rolled her eyes. “Why do you have to use that ‘Squiggly’ name?”

“Hey, Ty Lee thought it was cute!” Sokka huffed. “Anyway, I don’t want to see you get hurt, not after what that Yang girl did to you.”

Katara frowned. “Are you really playing the overprotective brother with me? I can take care of myself.”

“I know. And maybe it’s not my place. But I know you care about people. You’re one of the most loving, forgiving people I know.”

Sokka placed a hand on her shoulder. Katara crossed her arms, stared at the floor.

“It’s sad to see you push others away because you feel like you should. You deserve to be happy.”

Katara shook her head. “I know what would make me happy, but I don’t know if it’s right. It’s not really … normal.”

Sokka didn’t say anything. Katara wondered if he understood what she really meant, but for all his occasional boneheaded-ness, Sokka was astute when it counted.

“We’re not really normal,” Sokka said. “People get that. Dad got that, anyway. What else do we need? And if we’re lucky enough to survive this war, if we help Aang save the world … well,” Sokka’s mouth curled into an assured smile. “I think we have the right to do whatever we want with the rest of our lives.”

Katara let out a short chuckle. She gave Sokka a hug.

He took a loud sniff of her in return. “Ugh, you’re gross.”

She shoved him and walked out onto the beach.

~*~*~

With Sokka it had been easy to feel confident, but that confidence waned as Katara walked out on the beach, her feet sinking a little in the sand with every step.

She couldn’t see Zuko’s and Aang’s faces too well from where she was, but Katara could tell Aang had been crying. They sat across from each other on logs around the campfire they had lit a few days ago. Aang’s posture was stiff, his head slightly crooked to the side and toward the earth so he wouldn’t have to look at Zuko. His hands grasped around the staff of his glider like he was depending on it to hold himself up. Zuko had his elbows on his outstretched knees and his hands behind his neck. His hair draped around his face as he stared at the ground. Aang wiped his eye, but made no sound.

“Would it help if I said I was sorry again?” Zuko asked.

“Why should you apologize?” Aang said, his voice hard and biting. “You two didn’t do anything wrong, right?”

“I didn’t want to make her tell you. I thought this was the responsible thing.”

Katara’s heart was racing. She ran over to them. Aang saw her and immediately leaped to his feet, opened his glider.

“Aang, wait!” she called out, but Aang had already taken to the air. She whirled back to Zuko. “What did you say to him?”

“I told him that I knotted you,” Zuko said, shaking his head in his crouch of shame. “I knew he loved you, but I didn’t think he’d react that way. He’s really upset.”

Katara groaned as she sat down on the log, covered her hands with her face. She hadn’t wanted to hurt him, she thought, trying not to cry. This was awful.

“Look, I’m sorry …” Zuko rushed to her side, kneeled in front of her. He grasped her wrists. “Maybe if we go after him together, we can fix this.”

“Who do you mean by ‘we’?” Katara snapped, pulled her hands away. “If you want to fix this, you can start by being honest with me …”

Zuko reared back from her like she’d slapped him again. “Honest? When have I lied to you?”

“You haven’t lied, but you’re keeping stuff from us.”

“Hey, I was the one who told Aang what we – ”

“You’ve had sex before this,” Katara said, her teeth bared at him.

Zuko didn’t say anything for a few seconds. He wrinkled his nose. “So what?”

‘So what?’ That was his response?

“You’re a jerk, Zuko.” Katara got up and tried to walk away when Zuko snatched her wrist.

“It was Mai, okay?” Zuko said. “She became my bondmate when my father let me back in the Fire Nation. Are you happy, now?”

“No.”

Zuko sighed. “Look, we’re pretty much over. I wrote her a letter before I left the Fire Nation telling her I needed to help the Avatar, to help you, and the last time I saw her we fought at the Boiling Rock prison. Azula captured her and Ty Lee. There’d already been some unfinished business between us before then, so now that this has happened …”

Katara yanked her hand away. “You don’t come off well in this story, Zuko.”

Zuko groaned and threw up his hands. “Well, what was I supposed to do? Take her with me out of the Fire Nation when she was more loyal to Azula? Rescue her at Boiling Rock? We barely got out of Boiling Rock, were we supposed to go back? What if your father was re-captured? What if the Fire Nation got Sokka? There are hard choices we have to make in this war, Katara.”

“I know all about the war, Zuko, so don’t change the subject,” Katara said as she turned back to him. “You’re just making excuses for yourself. Do you really care about us or are you just rejecting her? Why did you do this, really? How do you feel about Aang? About me?”

“How do you feel?” Zuko shot back.

They glared at each other, Zuko with his arms crossed, Katara with her hands on her hips.

“I don’t know,” Katara finally said, more out of regret than anything else. “I don’t understand my feelings when I’m around you. I know you’ve changed a lot, and you’re my friend. But you’re frustrating, and sometimes you scare me.”

Zuko sighed in frustration. “Are you never going to trust–?”

Katara gulped. “And I don’t know why, despite all of that, I ... I really like you, Zuko. I’ve been attracted to Yangs before, but not like this. When you knotted me, I thought I hated it, but I’d do it again. I want it again. I …”

She couldn’t say any more. It was hard to think about this. Her face felt hot. As she stared at the ground she felt Zuko’s arms wrap around her. She tried to push him away, but she caught his scent and ended up kissing him.

“I’d do it again, too,” Zuko said. “I’ve never felt anything like that before. I knew knotting would be good but to feel passion like that was amazing.”

“This doesn’t feel right,” Katara said. “I feel like it’s something my body wants but my brain doesn’t think makes sense.”

“Because of Aang?”

Katara lowered her eyes.

“I understand, I think.” Zuko ran a finger along Katara’s forehead, pushing a stray hair out of her eye. “I was told as a boy that Yangs were allowed to use Yins however we wanted, that they were our inferiors and that in-betweens were disgusting. Now I’m wondering if I want to spend the rest of my life with a Yin who won’t be pushed around and an in-between who’s stronger and braver than any Yang soldier I’ve met.”

Katara blushed at the compliment. He understood more than she thought. “Is the Fire Nation going to accept a ruler with two bondmates?”

“We should be so lucky to live that long.” Zuko pulled his arms away. “And we don’t exactly have our third person’s OK yet.”

Katara sighed, but nodded. “I’ll go talk to him.”

“I’ll be with you.”

Katara shook her head. “You’ve already spoken to him, and I don’t want Aang to feel like we’re ganging up on him. Besides, there’s a lot that I need to say to him, that I should have said a long time ago.”

~*~*~

Ember Island was many miles wide, but with much of it taken up by Fire Nation citizens there were few places Aang could fly without being spotted. Katara had searched all those places, then moved out into the jungle and the fields near the center of the island. Nothing.

Katara sat down on the ground in one of the fields, her legs aching and her stomach sore with hunger. She meant only to rest there for a few minutes, made plans to go back to the house and wash and eat before looking for Aang again.

Instead, Aang found her. She felt the breeze, the rustling of the grass beneath her, before she saw him in the sky. He landed on the ground in a rush of air. As she got to her feet, Katara wanted to sprint toward him, catch him in an embrace, but the look on his face – his eyes turned down his sorrow, his lips stiff with anger – kept her at bay.

“Aang,” she started to say. “Aang, I’m sor—”

Aang held up a hand, and Katara stopped talking. He took a deep breath.

“What did you think Air Nomads were like?” he asked.

Katara blinked and bit her lip, suddenly nervous. She hadn’t expected this question, and it made her doubt whether she’d be able to fix what had happened. “What do you mean?”

“The Fire Nation textbooks said that we treated Yangs like cattle, that we kept them in cells and only let them out when we needed them for mating,” Aang said, his voice laced with bitterness.

Katara frowned. “We were never told anything like that and I wouldn’t have believed it if I were. What are you trying to say?”

“I know we were different from the other nations,” Aang continued. “We chose our Yangs, and sometimes it was only for a little while, but we loved them. We didn’t treat them like tools, or like drones. We treated them like people.”

Katara felt like she was scrambling to keep up. She racked her brain for anytime they had talked about this, any time she might have said something and not realized it hurt his feelings, but couldn’t remember anything.

“Aang, I’m sorry. I still don’t understand. I’d never make an assumption like that about your culture.”

“Then why would you think that I wouldn’t love you because of your size?” Aang yelled the words, a gust of wind circling behind him. “Why would you think I’d be that shallow, that that would be all that mattered to me? Did you think we just lined up all the Yangs in a row and measured them or something?”

The edge of Katara’s top lip flared in disgust. “You don’t have to talk to me that way to make your point.”

Aang winced, and the air calmed around him. “I’m sorry. I don’t like using language like that. Katara, I care about someone’s heart, not their knot. I’ve always been that way. I’ve always wanted to be bonded and have someone to love …” Aang raised the back of his hand to his mouth, gulped like he had to force something down before he could speak another word. “I loved last night with you. I loved every moment we had together.”

Katara sighed, trying to ignore the pounding in her chest and ears. She felt so on edge she imagined she could sense every hint of water in the dry Fire Nation air.

Spirits, she begged, let me say the right thing.

“I loved it too,” Katara said, finally. “Aang, I … I don’t know how you’re so secure about who you are as a Yin. I wish I had that. It’s one of the things I really admire about you.”

It wasn’t the answer he wanted to hear. Aang turned his back to Katara, hugged his staff close to my chest.

She tried again. “That actor was wrong. I don’t love you like a brother. I have a brother. You’re my best friend. You said I’ve always been a part of your new life, but you gave me a new life, too. And now … now I can’t imagine one without you.”

Aang sighed, and Katara could see the movement in his shoulders. “Is this the point where you tell me I’m too young for you? Because I don’t think I could take that right now.”

“You know, that … that doesn’t bother me. The day that I learned I was an in-between, the day I was supposed to have become a grownup, the first person who acted like she could love me realized what I was and called me disgusting. I thought if that was growing up then maybe I don’t mind playing with dolls and penguin-sledding and …” Katara wiped her eyes. “Ugh, why am I crying? That happened last year. It feels like forever …”

Aang turned back to her. Katara sniffled, let him come closer and dry her tears with his thumb. She reached her arms around him. He dropped the staff in his hand and hugged her back.

Katara whispered his name into his neck. She tried to say the words she wanted, to feel them. When they came out, it was like a giant sigh of relief.

“I love you, Aang.”

Katara felt Aang freeze up suddenly. He pulled away.

Oh no. No.

Aang crouched on the ground, picked up his staff. Katara feared he would take to the air again, but instead he looked out toward the horizon.

“You kept saying that you weren’t what I needed. But I think I’m not what you need, Katara. You’re really smart and responsible, but you let Zuko knot you. I don’t …” Aang’s voice cracked. He tried to speak again, but ended up sniffling.

Katara lowered her head, folded and unfolded her fingers together. There was no gentle way to say this.

“I … I like Yangs, yes,” she raised one of her hands to her heart. “But I’m not going to pick a mate just based on a knot, either. If you still want me, Aang, I would love you with everything I have. I’d protect you. I’d give you children. I’d even marry you one day, if that’s what you want. Because I know that’s what I want. I want a life with my best friend.”

Aang gripped harder onto his staff. “But you want Zuko there, too.”

Katara took a deep breath. “I thought you liked mating with him.”

“Zuko’s my friend. We needed to mate. We mated. That’s not the same as love.”

Katara had no response. This was the response she feared. The wind flowed around them, bringing a blast of heat, then something cooler.

“Give me time,” Aang finally said.

Katara nodded, a tearful, hopeful smile on her face.

~*~*~

This is how time passed.

If Aang sometimes fought a little harder and rougher with Zuko during firebending practice, Zuko forgave him. Zuko may have even relished the renewed vigor for battle in the gentle, sweet Yin. 

Sokka acted as a sometimes-sympathetic ear to both Aang and Katara. “He doesn’t hate you,” Sokka assured her on a day when she was feeling particularly guilty. “He’s just trying to understand.”

Toph was less generous, although Katara once spotted her talking intensely with Aang about something. When Toph put her hand on Aang’s knee, Katara confronted her later, snarling with jealousy. The fight was ugly (“Don’t you have enough mates, Sugar Queen?”) and involved not a little bit of the mudbending that always followed their power plays, but Toph ended up reconciling with her the next day, assured her that “Twinkletoes” wasn’t her type.

Zuko stayed by her side. They mated a few times, albeit without knotting, but Katara wouldn’t let him sleep in her bed again until Aang gave her a “yes” or “no.” She wanted him to feel welcome if he ever decided to come back.

Maybe Aang eventually did see, albeit belatedly, the wisdom of what Katara said after the play. Sozin’s Comet arrived. A dark fear rooted in Katara’s heart as she watched Azula electrocute Zuko. As Katara brought him back from the brink of death with her healing water, she wondered if both of her lovers could be lost to her forever.

But no. Aang defeated the Phoenix King, Zuko ascended the Fire Nation throne, and in the heart of the Earth Kingdom, beneath autumn’s first sunset, Katara got her answer.

The End.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I want to give a thank you to my readers once again, especially those who have returned after reading "Yin, Yang and Squiggly." It's so happy to see the same names (and new ones!) giving me kudos again. Thanks to everyone who gives kudos, who writes comments, who recs me on anon memes. I'm truly lucky.
> 
> The next story in this series will be a Legend of Korra story and thus will be tagged there, so keep an eye on that fandom if you want to see more. (Or subscribe to this series/me, of course.) It may be awhile before it gets written. I've been writing a screenplay for a year that I really just need to buckle down and finish, but this is a story I think about every day, so it'll be hard. Anyway, thank you again. You guys are great!


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